Some thoughts about opening nights – and my most recent one: Tipping Point’s ‘Every Christmas Story Ever Told…’

Attending opening-night performances used to be a regular occurrence for me. Heck, weekly trips (and especially multiple trips each week) to the theater were a routine part of my calendar for more than a decade. Such visits are now a part of my past, however, so it was with a mixture of anticipation and nostalgia that I attended my first opening night – “Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some)” at Northville’s Tipping Point Theatre – in quite some time.

To me, an opening night performance is always one filled with a unique energy not felt at any other performance. Actors are both excited to be in front of a paying audience for the first time (or first time at the full price), but also nervous about remembering their lines and stage blocking. And most everyone on stage is both eager and apprehensive about how the audience will respond to certain moments in the story – and whether or not certain “bits” will work as intended.

The house staff, too, often shares in both the positive energy and insecurities exhibited by their onstage counterparts. Volunteers are often learning where the seats are that match the numbers on patrons’ tickets, while theater managers smile, greet and schmooze with their guests while keeping their fingers and toes crossed hoping for a pleasant, problem-free night.

So, yes: There’s an unrivaled uniqueness to opening nights that can’t be replicated later in the run, which is why I always found opening nights to be among my most favorite times at the theater. (The goodies served afterward helped, too!) And my experience at Tipping Point two Saturday evenings ago not only kicked off my holiday season, but made my return to an opening night performance a thoroughly enjoyable one!

The experience began the moment my guests and I entered the theater. We were barely in the door when we were greeted warmly by the box office personnel, and later, by the ticket takers who were both friendly and efficient. And the night concluded with an afterglow – more on that later – after which there were plenty of goodbyes from the staff that still remained.

Sandwiched in between, of course, was “Every Christmas Story Ever Told…,” which is exactly what the name implies: pretty much every classic (or cheesy) holiday-themed TV special, movie, commercial, carole and storybook tale ever written sliced, diced and filleted into a two-hour comedy that even Scrooge would have found entertaining (albeit begrudgingly, of course).

Written by Michael Carlton with original music by Will Knapp, “Every Christmas Story…” celebrates the holiday spirit – literally at one point – by mixing memorable holiday moments and traditions into a Christmas stew that’s part satire, part slapstick and part improv, with a side of good cheer to tie it all together. Be forewarned, however: Shakespeare it ain’t (although a similar version exists based on the Bard’s tales). Therefore, there’s no deep, complicated or thought-provoking plot to follow, or characters with complicated back stories to keep straight. Instead, the script is written for three actors, each of whom plays whichever character is needed at any given moment. And there are a million of them (or so it seems) who quickly come and go throughout the performance.

Sound easy? It’s not. And that’s why a creative director and a trio of skilled actors are necessary ingredients to pull it together and make sense of it all. (It’s also why every production of this show you might see over the years – as I have since 2006, I believe – will be significantly different from one another.) And the Tipping Point production is well served in this regard.

The production opens with a familiar face to Tipping Point audiences, as Patrick Loos enters, pulling an old-fashioned street lamp alongside him. In as serious a tone as he can muster, he begins with the opening dialogue from the ever-popular Dickens’ “A Christmas Carole.” Only seconds into the scene, however, he’s interrupted by Vanessa Sawson, who refuses to do the show, since it’s been done to death and she’s bored by it. (That’s not an exact quote, but you get the point.) They’re joined shortly by Hope Shangle, and it’s now two against one. So after a short debate, they call a truce: If the two women get to tell their stories in the first act, Loos can get his wish with the Dickens’ classic in the second.

Sort of – with the resulting version a delightful, whirlwind visit with the now-very-familiar characters as only these three can portray them.

And that’s the secret sauce of this production: These particular actors, along with director Sonya Marquis and her team of technical folk, give the show its unique and colorful spin. And that’s because the script was written in a way that allows them to rise to the challenge of interpreting the work by combining their individual senses of humor and creative skills into a product that can never be replicated in quite the same way.

That’s the magic of live theater in a nutshell: Not only is every production unique, so too is every performance – with the resulting experience gone, never to return, except for the memories it created.

Looking back a couple of weeks, then, my memories are of an entertaining night out with friends that launched my holiday season with plenty of laughs. (The show should really be sizzling now!) And of a company that always knows how to treat its guests well.

I can’t end this memory, however, without a tip of the hat to the Gay Bakers (Richard Payton and Christopher Kamm) who provided the afterglow’s scrumptious desserts. You didn’t hear this from me, but rather than limiting myself to only one sugary treat, I went back for another. And another. And what the hell, for a couple more before I finally said goodnight and left the building fully satisfied that the evening not only met, but surpassed all my expectations.

'Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some)' runs now through December 22 at Tipping Point Theatre in Northville. For tickets and show information, CLICK HERE!

Photo: Vanessa Sawson, Patrick Loos and Hope Shangle. Set design by Jared P. Cole.

Brief thoughts about two more plays: 'Hug' at Tipping Point and MSF's 'Cyrano'

Although I wasn’t able to get to the Detroit Improv Festival, I did up my count of shows I’ve seen in recent days by two – both of which I highly recommend.

The first is “Anatomy of a Hug” at Northville’s Tipping Point Theatre. Catching this show is well worth the price of admission (and more) thanks to the amazing and emotional performance of Sandra Birch as a woman with cancer trying to reconnect with the daughter who hates her guts. Dani Cochrane as the resentful daughter is a wonderful ying to Birch’s yang, as she allows us to share the personal roller coaster ride she takes while dealing with a mother she never expected back in her life. She might even be a wee bit more impressive as the object of Michael Lopetrone’s initially unwanted affection. Watching how earnest he is at trying to connect with her – and how he handles her constant rejection – proves yet again what a fine actor Lopetrone is. Completing the cast is Tiffany Aisha King, who playwright Kat Ramsburg saddles with being the character who enters at appropriate times to provide background details the audience needs to make sense of the story and then offers guidance and support to the characters to drive the plot to its conclusion. King raises the role several notches by enriching her character with carefully blended compassion, wisdom and understanding when needed. Director Beth Torrey cast well when considering this role. Warning #1: Bring a hanky. Warning #2: Don’t try unwrapping your candy in a totally quiet house as the plot is almost at its climax; if you do (like the woman sitting in front of me did), you too will be given dirty looks from people not only next to you, but also across the stage from you. (From behind it looked like she eventually thought better of the idea and dropped the candy back in her purse.)

Next up is a play I’ve seen different versions of over the years, but now I’ve seen my favorite: “Cyrano de Bergerac,” courtesy of the Michigan Shakespeare Festival. Yes, I know it’s not written by The Bard, but artistic director (and director of “Cyrano”) Janice L. Blixt sneaks in a different playwright every season, and her choice for this year was top notch! The script is the 1923 adaptation by Brian Hooker, but Blixt snipped a bit here and there, the result of which was a tight ride easily digestible for the audience and much fun for the 15 actors who brought it to life. David Blixt stars at the title character – he with the super-sized snout, if you remember your high school English or lit class – and I suspect he’s having the time of his life with the role. So too is the rest of the cast, as the show breezes by in what seems to be far less time than what the clock indicates. This is a Cyrano whose feelings and emotions are easy to read, thanks to the physical embellishments David Blixt gives his lines; a quick glance here, a broad gesture there, a devilish grin and a twinkle of the eyes are all expertly blended with the dialogue (his or others) to deliver a Cyrano that won’t soon be forgotten. Others in the cast are also colorful in their portrayals: among the many are the lovely and sexy Vanessa Sawson as Roxane, the object of Cyrano’s affection (as well as that of at least two others); Robert Kauzlaric as the villainous Comte de Guiche (another suitor, but married); Michael Morrow as the handsome Christian de Neuvillette (the third and final suitor, unskilled and clumsy in the art of woo); and John Lepard as Le Bret, a friend of Cyrano. But I couldn’t help but smile every time Alan Ball entered the stage as Ragueneau, the baker with the jiggle in the middle. I don’t think it’s possible for Ball to be anything but excellent in any role he tackles. Also of note is the music composition and design by Kate Hopgood, and the cool projections (which fascinated many in the audience) by Jeromy Hopgood.

"Anatomy of a Hug" continues at Tipping Point Theatre in Northville through August 25. For complete show details, CLICK HERE!

The Michigan Shakespeare Festivals production of “Cyrano de Bergerac” continues in rotating repertory at The Village Theatre at Cherry Hill in Canton through August 18. For complete show information, CLICK HERE!

Captions:
Top: Vanessa Sawson, Lauren Grace Thompson, David Blixt
Above: Dani Cochrane, Michael Lopetrone, Sandra Birch

Updated: WOW! What a week! My thoughts on what went down in the theater community, the cancellation of The Wilde Awards, and what should happen next

Corrected Aug. 1, 2019 at 9:36 p.m. See note at bottom for details.

I’ve been asked by several people for my thoughts regarding the brutal controversy that erupted earlier this week that is still simmering throughout much of Southeast Michigan’s professional theater community. For the most part, I’ve stayed out of it – despite my name being tossed into the discussion a couple of times – and I’ve offered no public comments. (I did, however, “like” many comments on Facebook, in part to keep abreast of the ever-expanding and increasingly nasty threads.)

But with the news yesterday that The Wilde Awards show has been canceled this year – and with continuing inquiries regarding my thoughts on this latest wrinkle to the story – I decided to prepare this statement, which will be my only public statement on this entire affair. (For those of you who may not know this, I co-created the awards back in 2002.)

However, please keep this in mind as you work your way through what will be a significant chunk of your time (if you decide to stick with me till the end, that is): Because I know most everyone involved in this matter one way or another, some of whom for nearly two decades, my objective is not to assign blame or choose sides; there’s enough of that going around. Rather, it’s to offer a broader perspective than what I’ve seen all over that evil Facebook – and to be as honest about it as I can without naming names, directly pointing fingers at specific individuals, or violating confidences.

Finally, before we get to the nitty gritty, I want to be clear about something: Agree with me or not, I don’t care; my words and thoughts are not up for debate. I own them, plain and simple. But they’re based on first-hand knowledge from numerous discussions I’ve had over the past few years with various people involved on both sides of the argument.

Take a deep breath. Now dive in!

* * * * * * * * *

Since my official retirement from Between The Lines and EncoreMichigan.com in late 2014 – yes, I know, I was resurrected a couple of times since then, but stick with me here – I’ve been slowly pulling myself away from the theater community. Yes, I still see some shows (but not nearly as many as I did last year, for example) and I share my mostly brief thoughts about them on Facebook or on this blog as a way of helping theaters get some sorely lacking publicity. But unless I have an occasional lunch with an industry insider, chat with folks after a show or open an unexpected email, I’m pretty disengaged from day-to-day industry news.

What this means, then, is that I’ve paid little attention to The Wilde Awards since I last hosted the affair in 2016 and served as head wrangler in determining the nominations and winners the following year. And as deference to the new team taking over as producers and hosts, I declined all requests to attend the ceremony after my departure as host.

So while I spent 15 years nurturing the event (which was probably one or two years too many, in my honest appraisal), I’m of two thoughts on the matter of its cancellation.

The first is this: Once the awards were turned over to other caretakers, my emotional attachment to the event dissipated over time. It was now for others to guide, to grow, to change, or do with as they pleased. My only hope was they took it as seriously as I did and treated it just as well. In that regard, I was no different from a teacher whose students moved to the next level or a business owner who sold their pride and joy to another: I have fond memories of it, wish it well, but I moved on with no regrets.

Except for one. And here’s my other thought.

While The Wilde Awards were created to honor the best work produced by Michigan’s professional theaters, Jan Stevenson, Susan Horowitz and I had a second, equally important goal when we created the event – and that was to offer the professional theater community a night shared with the LGBT community in which rivalries could be put aside, old friendships could be re-established, new relationships could be forged and a fun time could be had by all. And to set the tone, my co-host its first two years was an up-and-coming young drag performer who wowed the audience (while at the same time re-establishing relationships with Detroit’s Mosaic Youth Theatre, which provided our mid-show entertainment).

While I was always fully aware that some people within the theater community didn’t take the awards seriously and couldn’t have cared less what I thought or what my fellow critics thought of their work, that didn’t matter. Our goal was to produce One Wilde Night for the community, and for the most part, I believe we succeeded more often than not, and sometimes we even surpassed it.

That became even more important as other media-related awards and awards shows bit the dust. We were the last awards standing for Metro Detroit thespians.

Now, with the cancellation of this year’s ceremony, yet another sad chapter in the history of our industry has ended. And that’s a damn shame.

And the cause? If you believe some of what I’ve read on Facebook and heard through other means, this week’s brouhaha was the result of nothing more than (in my very humble opinion, a poor excuse of) a review (that never should have seen the light of day). As an editor, I would never have allowed it to run as published.

But that’s not the reason for all the turmoil.

And for the record, there’s no innocent victim here, either.

Rather, the review was the spark that ignited a long-simmering reaction by a members of the community that for the past couple of years has felt disrespected by the words and actions of the critic.

So – let me emphasize this point for the skimmers out there – it was never about the review. There was no single event that led to the launching of the bomb that followed; it was simply the culmination of several events over a period of time – and the artists involved decided they’d had enough. If you want to know the details, ask participants on both sides; you won’t find them here.

To be honest, I found some of the initial reactions and responses to the review to be quite creative. They were cryptic and fun and they tried to make delicious lemonade out of the published lemon. (In fact, many who responded to the posts hadn’t a clue what precipitated them, as names were never mentioned nor was the review or where it was published.)

But as usually the case in such situations, reactions became overreactions and tempers flared.

Then, once the open letter appeared, others with grudges piled on and the discussion got downright nasty. Equally predictably, misunderstandings occurred and things were said that shouldn’t have been. And a downright despicable text message was sent.

However, as I mentioned above, there are no innocents here: Defending yourself while calling the production reviewed a “shite musical” doesn’t do much to heal wounds, solve problems or move those trying to remain neutral to your side. Nor do snarky replies made from all sides of the debate.

Quite frankly, the result was a cluster fuck of a magnitude I haven’t seen in a long while. And unfortunately in situations like this, people chose sides without knowing all the details, which further added to the destruction.

So now that the damage is done and the carnage is being picked over by all sides of the debate, what happens now?

How about this, for starters; the rest is up to the industry:

#1: After a short cooling down period, how about both sides sit down and have an open, honest and emotion-free discussion to resolve their issues and disagreements. It won’t be easy or comfortable – and only two or maybe three representatives at most from the aggrieved theaters should participate. But there are real and important matters that need to be resolved, and the quicker this happens, the better.

#2: And how about anyone else with a valid concern do likewise? If one side is open to talk, the other must step up to the plate or shut the fuck up. And maybe if everyone approaches this like intelligent adults, everyone can move on and create great theater (and theater criticism) together!

#3: Personally, I love the idea discussed in multiple threads on Facebook about a pot-luck event for the community. However, in my now-45 years working in, consulting for and professionally observing Southeast Michigan’s professional theater community, I can honestly say it’s always been a fractious and fractured one – and this incident only serves to reinforce my view. So what I hope is this; take it for what it’s worth or ignore it, I’m fine either way:

(A) That a pot luck does take place, and it’s open to the entire industry, not to just a select few. Companies large and small, Equity and non-Equity alike should be invited, from all over the Metro Detroit-Lansing-Jackson-Ann Arbor corridor. It should be held in a central location that’s easy (relatively speaking, of course) for everyone to get to. And for heaven’s sake, include the improv community! Make this as diverse a party as you possibly can!

(B) If the pot luck does happen, anyone who reviews shows or is in the media should stay the hell away. Let this be a time where industry members can let down their collective hair without us vultures nosing around. The wall between us should be a tall and thick as reasonably possible.

(C) Don’t wait too long to have it. Based on personal experience, the end of August is the latest it should occur, as once the theater season gets underway, it becomes nearly impossible to get a large group of thespians together to do anything but stage a play. And, as one person noted on a Facebook thread earlier today, there IS a certain date that industry folk now have open! So get busy!

(D) And finally, have fun at the party! Forget all the shit that transpired this week, put rivalries aside, re-establish old friendships, forge new ones, party like there’s no tomorrow – and then go out and create a new season of innovative and exciting theater, no matter if there’s an award next year with your name on it or not.

* * * * * * * * *

CORRECTION: When my post initially appeared, it included a sentence about a special 2017 Wilde Award I won and how I had never received the plaque. (I didn’t attend the ceremony.) I made light of it by admitting to the fact I still had in my possession a plaque for a winner the previous year, noting it was a long story why. Well, guess what I found? The award – placed two years ago in a box full of materials I prepared for that year’s critics meeting. (The award was given to me following lunch a short time after the ceremony.) To avoid tripping over the box, I placed it in my office closet with the intention of going through it “in a day or two” to decide what to keep and what to toss. You can probably assume what happened: Other stuff got piled on top of it, and it was never given another thought. Until this evening when questioned about it. So, yes, it’s probably a good thing I’m not reviewing anymore! In all seriousness, I sincerely apologize to everyone involved – participants and readers alike - for this regrettable error. Now I’ll go hang the plaque.

Some thoughts about: 'The Merry Wives of Miami' at Slipstream

Over my two decades of life as a theater critic, I’ve seen directors take all sorts of liberties with the works of William Shakespeare. While some were quite creative and entertaining, others caused me to question the sanity of the artists involved in such a debacle.

So when I received promotional material recently from Ferndale’s Slipstream Theatre Initiative promoting its next show, it did what any good PR piece should do: It successfully lured me into securing tickets for this past Saturday evening’s performance of “The Merry Wives of Miami.” So, yes, I’m apparently a sucker for punishment, as the show’s concept disguises The Bard’s popular comedy “The Merry Wives of Windsor” as an episode of TV’s “The Golden Girls.”

It has the potential for disaster written all over it, doesn’t it?

But based on past experience with Slipstream, I went in with an open mind. After all, artistic director Bailey Boudreau and his creative cohorts have had much success with other such oddball concepts.

This pairing, though, truly intrigued me, since it’s one that seems far more logical than other Shakespearean experiments I’ve endured over the years.

For starters, “Merry Wives” is The Bard’s only play set entirely in England, in the middle-class town of Windsor. It features two wives, Margaret Page and Alice Ford, who have great fun putting their husbands in their place at the expense of the boastful Sir John Falstaff (previously seen in the “Henry IV-V" dramas), who’s come to town and plans to woo the above-named women.

Can’t you see Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia, sitting in their Miami kitchen eating cheesecake, gleefully scheming to make a fool out of Stan and one of his hair-brained schemes just like director Bailey did? As any “Golden Girls” aficionado knows, this award-winning sitcom ran for seven seasons on NBC beginning in 1985. Therefore, Bailey and his co-conspirators present their tale as the opening episode of the imaginary eighth season. So then the question: How successful was the Slipstream team in smooshing one well-known comedy into the other?

It may not be perfect, but it sure is fun!

For starters, other than the opening scene that sets the stage for the audience – you can almost imagine Sophia saying, “Picture it: Miami. 1992” – the adaptation is primarily the unadulterated words of William Shakespeare. His script is pared down to a 70-minute running time that focuses on the comedy’s main plot. The resulting story makes sense; if you’ve never seen the original, you won’t be lost for lack of what’s been cut.

Costuming by Tiaja Sabrie was spot-on perfect, which immediately pulled me into the world of “The Golden Girls.” And whether or not their costumes and wigs inspired them, I don’t know, but Luna Alexander, Jan Cartwright, Linda Rabin Hammell and Mandy Logsdon surely looked their parts (Blanche, Dorothy, Sofia and Rose, respectively) and carried themselves accordingly. Hammell had great fun channeling Estelle Getty’s Sophia. Especially on target, though, was Alexander, who perfectly captured not only Blanche’s body language, but also her unique vocal characteristics, both of which flowed quite naturally throughout the evening. (That last part wasn’t as easy for the other actresses, though, as the voices of their counterparts are not nearly as distinctive, nor is The Bard’s dialogue always easily manipulated in order to match the Girls’ personal rhythms.)

Of the men, Patrick O’Lear’s Falstaff was immediately recognizable as badly toupee'd Stan, Dorothy’s ex-husband. And Ryan Ernst as the jealous Master Ford played his role with the same glee and expertise as I’ve come to expect from him.

Where the show stumbled, however, was with the performances of some of the younger, less experienced performers. For example, if a foreign accent is to be used, every word spoken must be clearly and concisely enunciated and delivered at a speed at which it can be understood. (This is true even when speaking typical American dialects, but doubly so when not.) As such, talking too fast AND indistinctly renders the dialogue nearly if not totally incomprehensible. Conversely, talking too slow can cause the show’s pacing to come crashing down. And finally, it helps to have all your lines memorized. All of this was such a problem that my guest – and he’ll kill me for publicly saying this – actually made the decision to take a nap during the show rather than to continue struggling to follow the plot, which had eluded him up to that point. Yes, Shakespeare can be difficult sometimes for our ears and brains to absorb, but thespians don’t need to complicate things and make it worse.

(As an aside, a running gag that I suspect goes over the heads of many a patron actually earned a semi-loud groan/laugh from me. Hammell’s character [Mistress Quickly] forgets a line, so she consults the script, which she kinda/sorta hides and carries with her. In real life, Getty had trouble remembering her lines, and so cue cards were strategically placed for her, and she’d write her lines on various props she’d use. Unfortunately, Getty died in 2002 from Lewy body dementia, an Alzheimer-like disease that may have started during her time on the show. So is this simply an in-joke, a nod to the reality of Getty’s experience on “The Golden Girls,” or just an innocent bit to have some fun with? Or is it not in good taste? As someone who has observed the realities of dementia first hand, I can’t decide on which side of the positive/negative divide this otherwise funny bit falls.)

Music from the TV series used to move the audience in to and out of scenes added to the overall concept.

The Bottom Line: While it’s certainly not one of Slipstream’s best productions, “The Merry Wives of Miami” – with some much-needed clean up and polish – has the potential to become a very entertaining night out at the theater.

* * * * *

"The Merry Wives of Miami" runs through Aug. 4. For complete show details, CLICK HERE!

Photo credits: Jan Cartwright Photography

Top: Jan Cartwright, Mandy Logsdon, Luna Alexander
Bottom: Linda Rabin Hammell

Some thoughts about: 'Funnyman' at Tipping Point Theatre

I went into the opening night performance of “Funnyman” at Northville’s Tipping Point Theatre knowing next to nothing about the play but expecting top-notch performances from those whose work I’ve observed and respected for years – or in one case, several decades. By night’s end my anticipation was not only confirmed, but surpassed.

In lesser hands, a story about a funny man whose life was anything but could easily be played overly broad. Director James R. Kuhl avoids that temptation like the plague, however, giving plenty of room to Wayne David Parker to explore the boundaries of his character, a once uber-popular comedic actor whose time has passed. A true gem of our theater community, Parker skillfully plumbs his emotional depths to explore the inner workings of a truly talented star whose onscreen and in-person theatrical antics made generations laugh, yet little did they know he was haunted by his past. (This was true of a number of well-known and beloved “clowns” of entertainment history.) It’s a depiction that can’t help but make one realize that there’s more behind an actor’s performance or public persona than we realize – that what we see on screen or on stage is only what the actor allows to share with us. And what’s behind the laughs might not be pretty. Parker navigates both – and the transitions from one to the other – exceptionally well.

“Funnyman” is not a one-person show, and Parker is surrounded by fellow onstage dynamites.  Ryan Carlson – always a major stage presence, especially in meaty dramatic roles – defies type as persnickety director Matthew Baroni, who has cast Parker’s Chick Sherman in his latest play against his better judgement. Then there’s Brandy Joe Plambeck, who lights up the stage the second he enters as playwright Victor La Plant and never dims; you can’t help but love the character. And in my head, I keep thinking of John Lepard’s Milt Karp, Chick’s longtime friend and agent, as the adult in the room, a role he plays to perfection.

John Lepard and Ryan Carlson

Completing the cast are two others, neither of whom I recall seeing before. Lani Call, currently finishing her MFA in acting at Wayne State, tackles with gusto the role of Katherine, Chick’s indignant daughter who can’t wait to confront her father for his perceived flaws in her upbringing; her scenes with Parker are especially powerful and revealing as she comes to realize there’s more to her father’s story than she ever suspected. And Matthew Smith, another Wayne State grad student, is Nathan Wise, the talented eye candy who helps the audience collect its breath as he charmingly (and sometimes not very skillfully) woos the girl of his dreams.

 As the story takes place in 1959, set designer Monika Essen has chosen a color palate that immediately places the audience in the appropriate decade. And by sheer happenstance, a patron arrived on opening night and sat in a front row center seat, coincidentally dressed to match Essen’s color scheme. When I teasingly suggested to Essen that she obviously dressed this woman and planted her there, she laughingly denied it.

And I can’t conclude without a tip of my hat to Quintessa Gallinat, whose sound designs always impress the heck out of me. This was no exception.

The Bottom Line: While you may or may not cry, you'll certain laugh at "Funnyman," yet another slickly produced and entertaining production at Tipping Point Theatre.

The Michigan premiere of “Funnyman” by Bruce Graham runs through June 30. Click HERE for show information.

Lani Call and Matthew Smith

Edited to fix a typo and for clarification 6/8/19 at 10:40 a.m.

Some Thoughts About: 'Death of a Salesman' at The Ringwald

While The Ringwald Theatre in Ferndale has built a solid reputation for staging quality (and often quirky) comedies and musicals, its current production of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” directed by Joe Bailey proves the company also knows how to breathe life into an esteemed classic American drama. Tears were flowing all around me this past Saturday night as the trials and tribulations of the Loman family came to a head, thanks to the gut-wrenching performances of Joel Mitchell as Willy, Kelly Komlen as his wife Linda, and Donny Riedel and Jeff McMahon as their sons Biff and Happy.

Mitchell is a force to be reckoned with every time he steps on stage, and with Willy he has reached yet another career milestone as the aging traveling salesman struggling – with exhaustion? Depression? Dementia? – to make sense of a life that’s falling apart all around him. It’s a performance filled with emotional highs and lows, rage and confusion, and pride and regret as Willy fluctuates from memory to reality in the snap of a finger. It’s also an example of how much Mitchell commits to his role: With a head shaved to reflect male-pattern baldness and with what’s remaining colored grey, the aging effect is stunning. (In fact, a moment at which Mitchell seemed to transform into the great Ed Asner playing the role surprised me. Yes, Mitchell is that good!)

Besides wanting to see Mitchell tackle the role of Willy, another major draw was his teaming with Komlen, another accomplished actor, as his wife. She too has been aged beyond her years, and while she likewise has moments in which her emotions explode like dynamite, it’s her quieter and more pensive moments where she excels – especially when she’s not necessarily the focus of the action. On her face it’s clearly written how much she loves this man – flaws and all – yet there’s pain behind those eyes that reveals her fear and deep concern as the love of her life fades away. As such, saying little pays major dividends when it comes to Komlen’s performance. What’s more, she and Mitchell are totally convincing as man and long-married wife.

Also convincing are McMahon and Riedel as the sons.

McMahon’s Happy is the wheeler dealer of the two, always spinning a good tale to anyone who will listen – especially if it means lining up a date or two for the evening. He’s cute, his smile would melt the hearts of any woman he talks to, and he’s a convincing liar who knows what to say to get the response he desires. And as with Komlen, McMahon’s eyes (and facial expressions) truly are the conduit to Happy’s inner and more honest thoughts.

Riedel, though, has the tougher role of the two – and he nails Biff with a physical and verbal performance unlike any I’ve seen before. I was intrigued by his work when I first saw him at Go Comedy some time back, and I absolutely loved him as the butler in The Ringwald’s production of “Clue on Stage” this past fall. But here his interpretation of a frustrated and troubled young adult packs an honest and emotional wallop that tugged at heartstrings all around me – including mine, as I’ll admit to a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye as Biff’s pent-up rage spews out during a pivotal moment in the show. (After the performance he looked mentally and physically exhausted!) It truly is a different, but superb portrayal from start to finish.

Supporting actors range from fine to adequate. Brandy Joe Plambeck does double duty in two totally different roles and makes then each unique. A couple of casting choices, however, had me scratching my head.

Technical elements are up to the usual Ringwald standards. Christopher Kamm’s very grey scenic design perfectly echoes the economic and emotional state of the Loman’s. However, costume choices and hair design for one actor by Vince Kelley and Sandra Glover pulled me out of the show a couple of times, as they were modern day rather than what you’d find during the late 1940s when the story takes place.

Nevertheless and despite my few quibbles, Bailey’s “Death of a Salesman” is an excellent production that helps cement The Ringwald’s reputation as an important and major purveyor of quality professional theater in Metro Detroit. The production runs through March 11. I highly recommend it!

For complete show details, CLICK HERE!

Joel Mitchell (foreground); Donny Riedel and Jeff McMahon
(background)